‘97 850 Wagon Topic is solved

[andrewjllrar]

About two years ago, head gasket blows. Car sits for two years. This week, everything goes back in, running like a top.
Driving today and a mile from the house, coolant light comes on… goes out… comes on…goes out.
Pull into my driveway , turn off the car and I open the hood and got steam from the right side hood— bowl is boiling over. It goes back down and within a few minutes is empty. Only a puddle in the drive—no trail on the street.
Can it blow that fast again? I drove less than 10 miles. Nothing coming out of the block or hoses- only the bowl boil over provided the puddle.

[850oldschool]

I can't think of anything in the cooling system which looks like a bowl. Can you describe it a kittle more?

[BlackBart]

I’ll bet he means the coolant reservoir / overflow tank.

[andrewjllrar]

Yes, the plastic overflow tank.

[scot850]

Did you replace the thermostat and with the correct one? Also the coolant header bottle/overflow tank the pressure caps can fail.

A pressure test with one of those kits with fluid that changes color might be a good idea just to eliminate the head gasket as an issue. Some parts stores rent them.

Neil.

[foggydogg]

Expand a bit on "everything goes back in" too; just a head gasket, or was the head rebuilt ? Machine shop work ? Broach-cut to resurface ?
Yes, 10 miles is enough time if the original underlying issue wasn't fully addressed, and the scene you described would point to cylinder pressure blowing the system dry.
Neil's suggestion will narrow the problem list down some.

[andrewjllrar]

Yes, complete rebuild, machine shop, valve and valve seats all redone etc.

So after last post, I topped it off, let her run for 30 minutes. No issue.

Topped it off next morning about an inch. I’m thinking in the clear. Today I’m driving, the coolant light comes on again. Zoom into an auto parts place and the overflow is down just enough to trip the sensor- not empty. Go in to get some coolant, turn the air off and leave the car running.

When I come out a few minutes later- windows are fogged. Top it off to the line, get back home and it boils over just a little bit when I turn the car off.

Thermostat was new two years ago when it was acting up, and the top hose is hot indicating it’s opening.

To answer your last question, carpet is dry internally.

[scot850]

Check under the carpet as it is rubber backed. Many have been fooled by finding the top surface to be dry and then surprised when they lifted it to find it soaking underneath.

These engines can be tricky to get all the air out of the cooling system, especially if the thermostat is bad. I had to 'burp' my car the last time and it took a few runs (carrying a container with mixed antifreeze/water) to get it stable.

Neil.

[abscate]

Foggy windows point to a bad heater core. It will take a loss of about a liter before the carpet gets wet

[andrewjllrar]

Hmm— thanks for the time taken to reply. I had another overflow on the tank, although less dramatic, and the tank was bone dry the next morning. Refilling again to see what happens. It doesn’t seem to have a problem at idle for 30 minutes, but then get on the road and the drama begins.

A Robert DIY video suggest the four issues of water pump, blown head-again, fan not tripping or thermostat.

Weird thing is, temp guage reads normal (which it did before the gasket blew), water pump was replaced not too long ago, thermostat was pretty new- but sat for two years (top hose heats up fine). I can’t remember if I heard the fan or not- but again no temp surge on the gauge.

As far as blowing the head again, there was no lack of coolant at any point before it began doing this. Weird…